Private luxury jet expansion–a luxury our climate can't afford

Click here for an online version of this action alert

SPJE.org

Dear Friends,

Enclosed you will find–

• March 6th SPJE Webinar with latest updates – register & spread the word widely!
• SPJE Coalition – see how we’re growing!
• Developers’ next report (DEIR) expected 3/15 – stay tuned!
• Private jets, Taylor Swift & Hanscom -- In the news!

Register now and spread the word widely!

Wed, March 6th at 7pm SPJE Webinar with latest updates on --

• The private jet hangar expansion plans – what the developers are saying now
• Climate impacts of the proposed expansion & why it’s a statewide issue
• Next steps in MEPA state environmental review, including public comments
• What you can do to help stop the largest private jet hangar expansion in New England, and possibly the nation

Confirmed speakers so far:

• Neil Rasmussen, president of Save Our Heritage, tracking Hanscom since 1998.
• Chuck Collins, co-author of report Hanscom High Flyers: Private Jet Excess Doesn’t Justify Airport Expansion, Institute of Policy Studies,10/2/23
• Alex Chatfield, St. Anne’s Climate Justice Ministry

For more information, please contact info@stopprivatejetexpansion.org

Coalition to Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere – see how we’re growing across the state

Rally outside the Massachusetts State House on October 2nd

Tracking Our Growth by Numbers & Location

Partner Organizations

We started as ten local groups last May, and in less than a year we’ve grown to

over 65 partner organizations statewide, from Boston to the Berkshires.

Our statewide partner organizations include 350Mass, Mothers Out Front Massachusetts, Sierra Club Massachusetts, Third Act Massachusetts, Mass Power Forward, UU Mass Action, Our Revolution Massachusetts, Elders Climate Action Massachusetts, No Fracked Gas in Massachusetts, Association of Massachusetts Bird Clubs, and Creation Care Justice Network the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.

Our statewide and local partners are located in Boston, East Boston, Winthrop, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Arlington, Andover, Newton, MetroWest area, Burlington, Bedford, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Wayland, Waltham, Sudbury, Maynard, Littleton, Groton, Ayer, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Acton, Wendell and the Berkshire area – with new members joining all the time.  

Want your organization to join our Coalition?

Contact us at info@StopPrivateJetExpansion.org

Take a look at our full member list here.

Individual Supporters

In addition to the localities above, our individual supporters also come from

Jamaica Plains, Weston, Boxford, Belmont, Wakefield, Scituate, Manchester, Newburyport, Sharon, Watertown, Westford, Hudson, Needham, Winchester, Northampton, Natick, Framingham, Acton, Woburn, and Westborough.

Our partners and supporters understand that the private jet hangar expansion at Hanscom is not simply a local issue.  Why?  Because Massport’s plans are a direct and immediate threat to Massachusetts efforts to combat climate change.  Here’s how: private jet emissions from Hanscom alone already cancel 50% of the climate gains from all solar PV ever installed in Massachusetts. This makes it a statewide issue.

Petition Signatures to Governor Healey

Last October, more than 240 of us delivered over 10,000 petition signatures to the Governor’s Office urging her to stop this reckless plan which would undercut our state's climate goals and allow the wealthiest among us to continue increasing their disproportionate carbon footprint at a time when UN climate scientists are urging all sectors to make drastic and immediate cuts to existing emissions.

See major media news coverage of our State House Rally below.

Since October, over 13,000 have signed the petition to Governor Healey.

Can you help us reach our new goal of 15,000?

Please sign the petition here, and share it widely with your friends and networks to help reach our goal.

Developers’ next report (DEIR) expected 3/15 – stay tuned!

The DEIR (Draft Environmental Impact Report) is the second of three steps in the state

environmental review process under MEPA (MA office of Environmental Policy Act).

For the full MEPA process, click here.

The developers -- North Airfield Ventures, NAV (Massport’s developer) and Runway Realty Ventures, RRV (owner and developer of private property abutting Hanscom airport) – have recently stated their intention to file their DEIR on March 15.  MEPA will publish it about a week later in their Environmental Monitor. 

Side note:  The two top principals of NAV and RRV are the same people:

Investor/developer Jeffrey Leerink (of Silicon Valley Bank fame) and investor/developer Michael Argiros (owner of Norwood Cadillac dealership, among other enterprises).  For more about the properties and players, click here.

Once the DEIR is published by MEPA, a 4-week public comment period will begin – we’ll let you know, so stay tuned!

Note: The DEIR filing date may change yet again, so look for our updates.

Private Jets, Taylor Swift & Hanscom -- in the news!

A Super Bowl Note to Taylor Swift: Love the Music, Park the Private Jet

by Chuck Collins, Feb 9, 2024, Common Dreams

“…More and more Americans are asking: Should we set off a carbon bomb of emissions so the ultra-rich can fly to their vacation destinations? And more and more are answering no. In Massachusetts, a grassroots coalition called Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom and Everywhere is calling on the governor to reject the Hanscom project for environmental reasons…”

Major media news coverage of Hanscom private jet hangar expansion and our efforts to stop it --

• Climate activists protest at office of Hanscom developer ∙ CommonWealth Magazine ∙ Bhaamati Borkhetaria ∙ 12/7/2023
• New Englanders are fighting against new infrastructure for carbon-intensive billionaire travel. If they win, the significance could be global ∙ Fortune ∙ Chuck Collins ∙ 11/14/2023
• Climate Activists warn Hanscom Airfield expansion will worsen private jet emissions ∙ GBH News ∙ 10/4/2023
• New England Climate Activists Press for No New Private Jet Infrastructure ∙ Common Dreams ∙ 10/4/2023 ∙ Chuck Collins
• Billionaires are responsible for large amounts of climate pollution from Hanscom, a new report finds ∙ Boston Globe ∙ 10/3/2023 ∙ David Abel
• Advocates press Healey to scrap Hanscom expansion ∙ CommonWealth Magazine ∙ State House News Service ∙ 10/3/2023 ∙ Sam Drysdale; Republished in CommonWealth Magazine, NBC Boston, WBZ
• Tracking New England’s top private jet travelers ∙ Axios Boston ∙ 10/3/2023 ∙ Mike Deehan
• Advocates ask Healey to prevent planned private jet hangars at Hanscom Field ∙ Boston Herald ∙ 10/2/2023 ∙ Matthew Medsger
• Coalition to stop private jet expansion comes to Beacon Hill ∙ WGBH ∙ 10/2/2023 ∙ Bob Seay
• Nearly half of private flights from Hanscom last less than an hour, study shows ∙ WBUR ∙ 10/2/2023 ∙ Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez
• Massport’s plan to expand private jet space at Hanscom is a climate debacle ∙ The Boston Globe ∙ 9/29/2023 ∙ Scot Lehigh
• The Barrett Report:  Story on Hanscom & grassroots efforts ∙ 9/16/23 ∙ Senator Mike Barrett
• Grassroots effort best chance at blocking Hanscom Field expansion for private jets, advocates say ∙ MassterList ∙ 9/20/2023 ∙ Erin Tiernan ∙ Note: MassterList is a newsletter from the Statehouse News Service that reports on events at the Statehouse.
• What you can do to help stop the private jet expansion at Hanscom Field ∙ Lexington Observer ∙ 6/15/2023 ∙ Bill McKibben
• Private jets are a climate disaster. Hanscom shouldn't allow more ∙ WBUR Cognoscenti ∙ 6/5/2023 ∙ Sabine Von Mering
• Two Really Dumb Things We Might Be Able to Stop: Private jetports, fracked gas pipelines—the zombie projects of the fossil fuel era ∙ 5/25/2023 ∙ Bill McKibben
• Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about surge in climate pollution ∙ Boston Globe ∙ 5/20/2023 ∙ David Abel

Go to spje.org for:

• more news stories about this private jet expansion, its climate impacts, and our statewide effort to stop it.
• more studies on private jets and their climate and social impacts

Please Donate!

This ever-growing coalition depends on ever-growing donations to succeed! Please give generously to help provide the resources needed for winning this David vs. Goliath fight.

We thank you for your continued interest and support in our campaign!

In Solidarity,
Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere

If you have not already, please:

• Share and sign the petition.
• Email Gov Healey and Climate Chief Hoffer demanding an end to private jet expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere.
• Call Gov Healey and tell her that private jet expansion is a luxury our climate can't afford.
• Donate or give monthly to support our organizing and research.

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